DÜNYA TİCARET ÖRGÜTÜ VE HUKUK DEVLETİ İLKESİ

Özet

Abstract

The WTO dispute settlement system has evolved from its originsin trade negotiations to becoming a rule of law-based system of interpretationof multilaterally-agreed trade rules. This article examines whetherthe WTO dispute settlement system may be said to further the rule oflaw. The article examines the origins of the system and focuses on severalparticular aspects the impact of the different power relationshipsamong WTO Members, issues of coherence in international law, differencesin legal traditions, and equality of access to the system, to assessits contribution to the rule of law. In this regard, there are many positivesto the system, including its accessibility to all WTO Members throughthe assistance of the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL).The second part of the article examines whether WTO law, includingthe dispute settlement system, serves to further the development ofthe rule of law in the domestic systems of WTO Members, particularlydeveloping country Members. The available evidence –including limitedempirical evidence as well as anecdotal evidence– suggests that it does.